AROUND THE WORLD.

Muslim Brotherhood gains seats in election

November 17, 2005|By Items compiled from Tribune news services.

CAIRO, EGYPT — The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's leading Islamic group, more than doubled its legislative representation in runoff parliamentary elections, according to initial results announced Wednesday.

The fundamentalist group won 34 seats in the first round, while the ruling National Democratic Party won around 70 seats, after a runoff vote Tuesday. The results were reported by the semiofficial Middle East News Agency, quoting judges in counting stations.

The result was "a shock," said Abdel Gelil el-Sharnoubi, editor of the Brotherhood's Web site. "I'm now praying to God to protect us from future government wrath."

As a banned organization, the Brotherhood is not allowed to run as a political party, but it fields candidates who stand as independents. It had 15 members in the outgoing parliament.

The group, which was founded in 1928 and banned since 1954, calls for implementing Islamic law but has long been vague about what this means. Its members are conservative but the group insists it represents a more moderate face of Islam than the Wahhabi version that dominates Saudi Arabia.